Remington VERSA MAX Synthetic Semi-Auto 12-Gauge Shotgun with Self-Regulating Multi-Load VersaPort System: Is this gas-operated shotgun reliable enough for military combat? Only one way to find out.

Relax. We haven’t tested it, yet, and there doesn’t seem to be a military/tactical version of it available, yet. If you’ve been reading The Firearm Blog, lately, you’re already aware that Remington actually just introduced the sport version of the Remington VERSA MAX Synthetic multi-load gas-operated semi-auto 12-gauge (12ga) shotgun very recently, so they probably need a little time. What makes the Versa Max special is its ability to feed/utilize 2.75″ (2 3/4″), 3″, and 3.5″ (3 1/2″) shotgun shells. Remington is billing the new shotgun as the “new standard for reliability in autoloading shotguns” that “will shoot any load, anywhere, every time, thanks in part to its revolutionary, self-cleaning VersaPort(tm) gas system”.

Whoah. Those are some pretty big words, there, and we’ll just have to see about that . Talk is cheap. Walking is more expensive. Testing under military combat-realistic adverse conditions is the only way to determine whether or not the Remington VERSAMAX shotgun is able to live up to the hype. It must be noted that DefenseReview (DR) looked for a tactical version of the Versa Max on Remington’s website, and couldn’t find one. We then looked for a military combat shotgun version of the VersaMax at the Remington Military website. No joy.

So, a militarized tactical version of the VERSA MAX Synthetic “self-regulating” multiload semi-auto shotgun must not yet exist. Perhaps one is currently in the works, i.e. being developed. Speaking of “works”, here’s how the Versa Max’s versatile multi-load-capable, “self-regulating” gas system works:

It utilizes a “VersaPort” (TM) system, which is essentially a gas port matrix, consisting of seven (7) ports, arranged in such a way that whe a 2.75″ shell is chambered, it covers up/seals zero (0) holes/ports, leaving all 7 ports open. When a 3″ shell is chambered, it covers up/seals 3 of the ports, leaving 4 ports open/uncovered by the shell, and when a 3.5″ shell is chambered, it covers/seals 4 ports, leaving the front 3 gas ports open, thus making the gas system self-regulating (see embedded videos below). The longer and more powerful the round/load, the less ports are left open and thus made available to allow gas into the system to cycle the action, and vice versa. The shorter, less powerful the load, the more ports are left open to allow more gas in to cycle the action. Pretty simple, actually–and yet seemingly effective, at least in theory. As I alluded to above, the question is how well the system will perform in the practical application of tactical combat. We don’t know, and Remington Military ain’t sayin’…at least not yet.

However, since the enemy (i.e. the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and various assorted other radical/extremist Muslim insurgents and terrorists) is reportedly scared shitless of shotguns, perhaps Remington Military will develop a military-version Versa Max shotgun most riki-tik.

In the meantime, MSRP on the sport version starts at $1399.00 USD.

Remington might also want to consider licensing out the Versaport tech to other manufacturers. Defense Review is curious as to whether or not the system can be integrated into hard-use military combat shotguns like the MPS Auto Assault-12 (AA-12) full-auto military shotgun (12ga) a.k.a. machine shotgun. The AA12 shotgun, designed by Jerry Baber and Boje Cornels (nicknamed “Panzerfaust” by Baber), can utilizes a specially-designed/proprietary and reliable 20-round drum magazine as standard, but it can also utilize a proprietary 8-round box magazine, and has been tested with the FRAG-12 family of 12-gauge shotgun shell grenade rounds.

Anyway, regardless, DR would like to have one of our evaluators put the Remington VERSAMAX multi-load semi-auto shotgun through its combat paces at the earliest opportunity, in order to see what happens when the rubber hits the road, or, more specifically, when the Versa-Max meets an adverse combat environment under high round count. Will it be able to take a licking and keep on ticking? Who knows. At this point, only The Shadow knows…and maybe not even him.

Remington VERSA MAX Synthetic Semi-Auto 12-Gauge Shotgun with Self-Regulating Multi-Load VersaPort System: Is this gas-operated shotgun reliable enough for military combat? Only one way to find out.
by David Crane

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.

5 comments

I have upgraded my versa max with a choate +5 magazine extension. It works great with minor modification to the original tube. The instructions said to use a 3/16″ bit to drill out the dimples, but the oblong dimples required a 1/4″ to allow the follower to slide freely without hanging up. The added weight to the front when fully loaded actually makes shouldering the gun a breeze. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to put more rounds down range in a short period of time.